Joint Statement Between the U.S. and the Philippines
Joint Statement Between the United States of America and the Republic of the Philippines

President George W. Bush and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today
reaffirmed the strength and warmth of bilateral relations and
commemorated the 50th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Philippine
Mutual Defense Treaty. While celebrating the achievements of
half a century of defense cooperation, the two Presidents agreed that
the alliance remains vital to both nations, particularly in the wake of
the September 11 attacks.

President Bush conveyed his deep appreciation for President
Macapagal-Arroyo's leadership in the fight against terror, both within
the southern Philippines and against international terrorist
networks. He specifically noted with appreciation Philippine
offers of logistical and other support to the coalition, as well as
President Arroyo's efforts to forge a regional ASEAN approach to
combating terror. President Bush also welcomed passage of
new anti-money laundering legislation as a concrete step in the global
effort against terrorism, and offered to provide technical assistance
to help the Philippines effectively implement the new
law. Emphasizing U.S. support for a strong, united ASEAN,
President Bush further offered all appropriate assistance to help ASEAN
improve its capacity to combat transnational threats, including
terrorism and the illegal narcotics trade.

The two Presidents agreed that the war against terrorism should be
fought in parallel with the war against poverty, and that the most
effective and least-costly anti-poverty bilateral cooperation measure
would be to work together to open markets worldwide. The two
Presidents, therefore, resolved to work closely to expand trade
bilaterally, regionally and globally, particularly in the context of
the Doha Development Agenda. President Bush agreed to work with the
United States Congress to provide the Philippines over $1 billion in
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) benefits. He also
noted that the growth rate of quotas of U.S. imports of textiles and
apparel from the Philippines would increase by 27 percent beginning in
January 2002, in accordance with U.S. commitments to the WTO. The two
leaders directed their Trade Ministers to reinvigorate and convene the
U.S. Philippine Trade and Investment Council within the first half of
2002.

Some long-standing issues are being resolved even before these
missions, including approval of Philippine mangos for export to the
United States. USDA and the Philippine Department of Agriculture
further signed a Memorandum of Agreement on November 19 to renew and
expand activities involving wide-ranging scientific, technological, and
agribusiness cooperation. USDA will make available guarantee
programs of $150 million for U.S. agricultural exports and equipment to
the Philippines that support the modernization of Philippine
agriculture and fisheries. Arrangements are also being made
to provide up to $40 million in PL-480 food aid for fiscal year 2002,
subject to budget allocations.

President Macapagal-Arroyo emphasized her government's commitment
to fight poverty, accelerate economic reform, enhance transparency and
promote good governance. In support of these objectives,
President Bush announced that in addition to assistance for Mindanao,
he is seeking $29 million from Congress in fiscal year 2002 monies to
support poverty alleviation, economic growth, and anti-corruption
efforts throughout the Philippines. As an expression of confidence in
President Macapagal-Arroyo's strong leadership on economic reform,
President Bush further announced that the Overseas Private Investment
Corporation (OPIC) will extend a special line of credit of $200
million, building on its current substantial portfolio commitments for
private sector investment in the Philippines, including in the housing
sector. The two Presidents agreed to work to increase
American investment in the Philippines, considering the close
partnership between their countries.

The two Presidents affirmed their shared commitment to protecting
the environment, pledging to continue the environmental activities,
including technical cooperation, under the July 2000 Joint Statement of
Cooperation on Environment and Public Health. President Bush
also informed President Macapagal-Arroyo that the Philippines has been
declared eligible to participate in debt treatment programs under the
U.S. Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA) of 1998. TFCA
provides for the cancellation of a portion of concessional debt owed to
the United States (which, in the case of the Philippines, currently
totals approximately $430 million) in exchange for a commitment to make
local currency payments to support domestic forest conservation
activities.

The two Presidents discussed the situation in the southern
Philippines, where separatist conflict and armed insurgency have raged
for decades. President Bush and President Macapagal-Arroyo expressed
deep concern for the safety of Philippine and American hostages held by
the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in the southern Philippines and called for
their immediate and unconditional release. The two leaders
reaffirmed their commitment to secure the safe return of all hostages
and to put an end to the terrorist acts committed by the ASG.

They discussed the recent trip to the Philippines by a U.S.
counterterrorism assistance team, which assessed the capabilities and
needs of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in their campaign
against the ASG. The two leaders affirmed that they would
continue to work on a vigorous, integrated plan to strengthen the
Philippine security forces' capacity to combat terror and protect
Philippine sovereignty. Such an integrated plan would
include a robust training package, equipment needed for increased
mobility, a maintenance program to enhance overall capabilities,
specific targeted law enforcement and counterterrorism cooperation, and
a new bilateral defense consultative mechanism. As a
preliminary step to enhance Philippine military modernization,
President Bush pledged to work with the Congress for at least a
ten-fold increase in Foreign Military Financing (FMF), from $1.9
million to $19 million for fiscal year 2002, and to sustain heightened
assistance levels in fiscal year 2003. He further announced
his intent to provide an additional $10 million in Department of
Defense goods and/or services to assist the Armed Forces of the
Philippines and another $10 million to support counterterrorism and law
enforcement assistance. In total, security assistance from
the Bush Administration to the Macapagal-Arroyo Administration, offered
and/or delivered, is expected to be worth nearly $100 million for
fiscal years 2001-2002.

While pledging military cooperation to end the terrorist activities
of the ASG, both leaders agreed that sustainable peace in Mindanao in
the southern Philippines requires addressing Mindanao's root economic
and social problems. President Bush praised President
Macapagal-Arroyo's decision to pursue a political path to peace with
the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and welcomed the recent
cease-fire signed between the MILF and the Government of the
Philippines. To help consolidate the peace and to promote economic and
social development in Muslim communities, President Bush announced that
he is working with the United States Congress to more than double U.S.
assistance to Mindanao with a fiscal year 2002 package worth over $38
million. Combined with fiscal year 2001 assistance, the
United States will provide over $55 million to Mindanao.

This Mindanao Assistance Package will provide direct support for
the nascent peace process by integrating the ex-combatants and their
communities into the peacetime economy; creating an environment in
Mindanao that is attractive for investment, job creation and economic
progress; and providing improved public services in Mindanao,
especially in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. This
package will also include $825,000 in new educational and cultural
exchanges, including a number of Fulbright scholarship grants,
specifically targeted at Mindanao's Muslim community. This
represents an almost 90 percent increase in educational exchange
programming for Mindanao. The President further committed to
work with Congress and other donors to secure additional resources for
Mindanao, as the peace process moves forward in the years ahead.

To complement this assistance, the U.S. Trade and Development
Agency (TDA) is taking a pro-active approach to encourage the U.S.
private sector's involvement in Mindanao's infrastructure
development. Both Presidents welcome TDA's signing of a
$302,500 grant agreement to plan the development of a commercially
sustainable solar-powered irrigation system for rural farming
communities and look forward to future TDA projects that will further
promote sustainable development for the people of Mindanao.

President Bush expressed condolences for the victims of the severe
typhoon that hit the Mindanao region earlier this month and noted that
the United States contributed $100,000 in disaster relief assistance to
help affected families. To help better prepare for, and
respond to, future disasters, the two leaders welcomed the signing of a
U.S.?Philippine protocol of intentions on cooperation on disaster
prevention and management.

The meeting between President Bush and President Macapagal-Arroyo
was characterized by unusual warmth and candor and heralded a new era
of comprehensive cooperation and friendship between the United States
and the Philippines.